Seize Your Unfair Advantage

Everyone has an unfair advantage. The thing that separates them from the crowd. The thing that maybe they don’t even deserve — but for whatever reason, they’ve got it.

And if they seize it, virtually nothing can stop them.

Coaching for Leaders has grown because of a few of my unfair advantages:

I’ve struggled with many of the same things the audience does.

I good at (and love) finding wisdom that helps people.

I’m darn consistent at keeping a schedule.

You have unfair advantages too. Things that if you recognized and grew would make you — and perhaps your entire organization — virtually unstoppable.

In this week’s guide, perspective on identifying and creating your unfair advantage.

The 5 People You Meet…

Years ago I read the book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven*. It’s the first time I recall hearing the concept of five people representing a core perspective of your life.

There must be something to the concept of five people, because when I was in the audience last week hearing a talk by James Fowler, author of Connected*, he cited that number as about the average number of people that heavily influence our lives through friendship.

And then there’s the quote from Jim Rohn:

You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.

So it seems to make sense to spend a lot of time thinking really, really hard about who those five people are in your life and how you create and grow those relationships.

Done well, those five relationships can become your unfair advantage. Done poorly, they hold you back.

That’s why a recent episode of Beth Buelow’s podcast caught my attention. On her show The Introvert Entrepreneur, she had a great chat with Geoff Woods on how to find the perfect mentor. I will be no surprise that you’ll hear the number “5” there too.

Intelligence Doesn’t Equal Influence

A question I often post to clients when we’re talking about influence is this:

Is the best idea in the room always the ones that get traction in your organization?

Almost always, people say no. The ideas that get traction are the ones that get presented well, which may or may not have been the best ideas.
Of course, intelligence is a factor in influence…but it’s only one factor. Raw talent isn’t generally an unfair advantage. After all, you’ll always find people smarter than you.